Booktalks – Page 45 – Booktalking #kidlit

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

The Vole Brothers
by Roslyn Schwartz (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: In this easy-to-read picture book comic the Vole Brothers are always hungry…so hungry they are ready to eat a cat. And then…

Snippet:
VOLE BROTHERS: Mmmmmm.
THE CAT: SNIFF SNIFF

VOLE BROTHERS: Something smells good.
VOLE BROTHERS: RiP RiP RiP RiP
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Chapter Book of the Day

Lilly and the Pirates
by Phyllis Root (Author) and Rob Shepperson (Illustrator)
116 pages

Booktalk: A sighting of the rare frangipani fruit fly sends Lilly’s scientist parents off in search of the fabled Shipwreck Islands. Lilly awaits their return at the home of her great-uncle Ernest, the chief librarian of Mundelaine, a town that seems to have more than its share of piratical-looking characters lurking about. When news comes that her parents’ ship has wrecked, she must overcome her fear of the sea, find the hidden island, and outsmart a bunch of treasure-hungry pirates to save the day.

Snippet: Lilly reached for her worry book, always at her side, ready for her to scribble down any worries she might think of. If Lilly worried enough about all of the things that could go wrong, if she wrote her worries down in her worry book, the bad things she worried about might not happen.
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CYBILS Easy Reader Finalists

The new CYBILS Easy Reader Finalists were just announced!

Aggie Gets Lost
by Lori Ries (Author) and Frank W. Dormer (Illustrator)
Ben throws the ball too far and his dog Aggie gets lost! Easy reader with 3 chapters

Dodsworth in Rome
by Tim Egan (Author, Illustrator)
Dodsworth and his misbehaving duck visit Rome. Easy reader with 4 chapters

Frog and Friends
by Eve Bunting (Author) and Josee Masse (Illustrator)
Frog likes things to stay the same, but that’s not how it goes in these 3 short stories. Easy reader with 3 chapters

I Broke My Trunk!
by Mo Willems (Author, Illustrator)
Uh-oh! Elephant broke his trunk, and now he has a CRAZY story to tell Piggie. Easy reader
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Literary Links

Walter Dean Myers named third National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature!

Reading is like oxygen (via The Globe and Mail)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Reading, Reading, Reading…

Picture Book of the Day

How to Hug
by Maryann MacDonald (Author) and Jana Christy (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Hugs can be tricky! But you can learn how to hug. Follow the directions in this book…

Snippet:
Neve hug anyone who’s angry.
It can take time to get over it,
so just be patient.
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Poisoned House
by Michael Ford (Author)
328 pages

Booktalk: Life can be cruel for a servant girl in 1850s London. Fifteen-year-old Abi is a scullery maid in Greave Hall, an elegant but troubled hoursehold. As an otherworldly presence makes itself known, a deadly secret is revealed–a secret that will shatter everything Abi Knows.
gat will shatter everytihg that Abi knows.

Snippet: The struts and beams of the new station at Charing Cross rose in the darkeness behind. I ran across a square. It was New Year’s Day in the year of Our Lord 1855 and on the ground lay the remnants of the previous night’s celebration: bunting, bones of fish and fowl and rotting fruit aplenty.
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My Book of the Week

Face-Off by Anastasia Suen (writing as Jake Maddox)
A hockey novel

Kyle wants to be a great hockey player, just like his brother, Caleb. Unfortunately, Kyle spends a lot of time sitting on the bench. The only way he’ll ever catch up to his brother’s goal total is if the coach lets him play more, and if his teammates begin to accept him. If Kyle can get his head in the game when he is on the ice, he might have a chance at scoring some major points for the team.

Copyright: 2007
Guided Reading level: M
Lexile Level: 470L
ATOS Level: 3.2
AR Quiz Number: 109966
Library Binding / Paperback: 72 pages
Publisher: Stone Arch Books

Book Activities:

Explore the Science of Hockey.

Find the words in this hockey word search.

Make your own Hockey Word Search.

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Online Writing Workshops

The NEW Children’s Chapter Books Workshop is Jan 4-Feb 22, 2012.

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Literary Links

Six Reasons Your Child Needs Pretend Play (via @imaginationsoup)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Weird but True Weather (Weird But True Science)
by Carmen Bredeson (Author)

Booktalk: Snow donuts? Dust devils? Clouds that look like flying saucers? Can this really be true? Find out in this easy-to-read information book.

Snippet:
Rain: This water fell on the dinosaurs!
Rain falls on you. Rain fell on the dinosaurs. It might be the same rain. Water on Earth is used over and over. It is called the water cycle.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Don’t Behave Like You Live in a Cave (Laugh & Learn)
by Elizabeth Verdick (Author) and Steve Mark (Illustrator)
128 pages

Booktalk: Full-color cartoons and humorous, kid-friendly text teach kids how to make smarter choices about how they behave at home and at school so they stay out of trouble, feel good about themselves and their choices, and get along better with family, friends, and teachers.

Snippet: This book isn’t about turning you into a “perfect” person, a goody-goody, the teacher’s pet, or some kind of robot-kid. Instead, it can help you take a look at how you act and how other people react. Do your actions help you–or do they hurt you?
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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is The Nonfiction Detectives

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Nonfiction Book Blast 2012

12 for 2012
by Anastasia Suen, panel moderator

Happy New Year, everyone! It’s time to introduce the Nonfiction Book Blast panel for 2012…

Beginning next Monday, these twelve nonfiction authors will be sharing booktalks and activities for your classroom and library. On Nonfiction Monday through the winter and the spring, they will take you behind the scenes of their new books. Each author will share twice, so this series will last from January 9th to June 18th. On the first day of summer, the big event arrives…

The American Library Association will hold its 2012 Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA from June 21–26. I’m happy to say that ALSC has invited Nonfiction Book Blast: Booktalks and Activities for Your Library to be on the program again this year!

Save the date! June 23, 2012 Nonfiction Book Blast 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

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Literary Links

Join the Marvelous Middle Grade Read-a-thon-January 2, 2012-January 8, 2012
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Friday Reads

Picture Book of the Day

It’s Almost Time
by Debbie Bernstein (Author) and Sarah Chalek (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Two friends make their way through a clock-filled house, counting down, ready for all the different clock sounds to mark the hour. Cover your ears; it’s going to be noisy!

Snippet:
Tick-tick-tock.
It’s almost time.
The gears are winding,
getting ready to chime.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Planet Earth: What Planet Are You On? (Basher Science)
by Dan Gilpin (Author), Simon Basher (Author, Illustrator)
128 pages

Booktalk: A handy intro to earth science, with a new concept after each page turn.

Snippet: It’s a wide, wild world out there. Planet Earth is filled to the bursting point with Rivers, Mountain Ranges, Weather systems, Climate zones, Ocean Currents, Biomes, and all kinds of what-have-yous. There’s so much to understand about our planet that the mind boggles.
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STEM Friday

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

This week’s STEM Friday Round-up is hosted by Red Phoenix Books.

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Poetry Friday

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by The Drift Record

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Nonfiction Monday on January 2, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on January 2, 2012

is at The Nonfiction Detectives.

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Happy New Year! See you in 2012!

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My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Young Readers

Picture Book of the Day

Red Sled
by Lita Judge (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: In this almost wordless picture book, a host of woodland creatures take a child’s sled for a nighttime joy ride.

Snippet: Scrinch scrunch scrinch scrunch scrinch scrunch
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Accidental Adventures of India McAllister
by Charlotte Agell (Author, Illustrator)
160 pages

Booktalk: Fourth grade is a year of changes, challenges, and ordinary joys for India McAllister. She lives in Maine with her artist mom and their dog, Tofu. Her father lives in the next town over with his new partner, Richard and their bird, Beatrice Strawberry. India – named for the ink, not the subcontinent – was adopted from China as a baby. Being the only Chinese girl in her small town fuels India’s search for identity. India reports in her own words and drawings about life, adventures (many with her good friend Colby) and all things annoying as well as what makes her happy.

Snippet: My name is India McAllister, and I’m nine and a half years old. I live in Wolfgang, Maine, where there are no wolves, but the coyotes grow almost as big. You can hear them calling to each other at night.
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Online Writing Workshops

Planning to write a children’s book in 2012?
The next Children’s Book Genres Workshop is Jan 4-Feb 22, 2012.

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STEM Friday on December 30, 2011

STEM Friday is coming! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

The STEM Friday Round-up on December 30, 2011

is at Red Phoenix Books.

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My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

The Snow Blew Inn
by Dian Curtis Regan (Author) and Doug Cushman (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Emma can’t wait until Cousin Abby arrives so their sleepover can begin. But a blizzard shows up instead of Abby. Other guests arrive and arrive and arrive. Soon the inn is full. But where is Abby?

Snippet:
Is cousin Abby coming down the trail?
“Not yet, not yet,” calls Mr. Owl. “Storm, storm!”
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant
by Michelle Cuevas (Author) and Ed Young (Illustrator)
144 pages

Booktalk: Ever since he was an infant, Pigeon Jones has lived on the back of an artistically gifted white elephant named Birch.

Snippet: I was born a restless sort, a tumbleweed, a wanderer if you will, and the night my parents left me on the orphanage steps, I didn’t wait around to be found. I crawled right out of that basket and made my way into the world.
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December 2011 Carnival Of Children’s Literature

Our December 2011 host is Jean Little Library.
The carnival will go live today!

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Online Writing Workshops

The next Children’s Novels Workshop is Jan 4-Feb 22, 2012.

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My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Holiday Thanks

Picture Book of the Day

I Can Say Thank You
by Tamsin Ainslie (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Three friends learn to say thank you.

Snippet:
These flowers are for you.
Thank you.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Guantanamo Boy
by Anna Perera (Author)
352 pages

Booktalk: Khalid, a fifteen-year-old Muslim boy from England, is abducted from Pakistan while on holiday with his family. He is taken to Guantanamo Bay and held without charge, where his hopes and dreams are crushed under the cruellest of circumstances.

Snippet: Sometimes, Khalid thinks as he drags himself home after another boring day at school, I’d rather be anywhere but here.

BONUS! Hear the author discuss the book!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/Qg1AaC3nHSA]
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Online Writing Workshops

The NEW Children’s Chapter Books Workshop is Jan 4-Feb 22, 2012.

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My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Winter Colors
by Brian Enslow (Author)

Booktalk: See all of the colors of the season in this simple easy to read book.

Snippet: red mittens

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Chapter Book of the Day

Van Gogh (The Great Artists & Their World)
by David Spence (Author)
48 pages

Booktalk: Over 100 color images and illustrations bring the world of van Gogh to life…

Snippet: One of the most original and expressive artists ever, Vincent van Gogh is well-known the world over–as much for his tragic life as for his emotional and colorful artwork that has had a powerful and influential impact on art since he died over 120 years ago.
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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is Jean Little Library

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Online Writing Workshops

The next Intensive Picture Book Workshop is Jan 4-Feb 22, 2012.

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My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

STEM Friday

Picture Book of the Day

A Polar Bear’s World
by Caroline Arnold (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: The Arctic wind howls, but the two polar bear cubs are warm inside their den. They snuggle tight against their mother…

Snippet: It is early January. The sky is dark both day and night. Inside the den, the mother polar bear has just given birth to two tiny cubs.
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STEM Friday

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

This week’s STEM Friday Round-up is here!

Leave your link in the comments and I will add you to the round-up! Thanks!

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